5 Ways to Dominate in the Barber Game
The barber shop industry is highly competitive and no one knows that better than Adam Johanson, Co-Founder and CEO of BarbershopCo.
Here, Adam shares his top tips for dominating the barber game, learned with boots on the ground for almost a decade in the business.
1. Craft an unforgettable customer journey
Transforming the customer experience is vital for success in the barber industry. Focus on engaging all five senses—sight, smell, touch, and sound—to create a welcoming and memorable atmosphere.
How you greet your clients, how the store looks and smells, the music choice, and the comfort of your chairs all play significant roles. By meticulously refining these elements, you can deliver an experience that keeps clients coming back.
At BarberShopCo, we serve thousands of clients each week and strive to give every one of them the same world-class experience.
2. Recruit top talent and reward their success
Staff are the face of your business, and they deserve to be paid appropriately. A lot of people don’t know that barbers were originally tasked with conducting surgical operations on soldiers during and after battles. The Surgeon Barber profession was only split in 1745 and I don’t think anyone would argue that barbers have done as well as surgeons when it comes to remuneration.
Barbers are passionate about their craft, but nobody should be doing it for love alone or dodging the tax man to make enough money to survive. Our role as business owners is to help marry barber passion and creative genius with processes and share the value that’s created. That’s how you build a virtuous circle.
At BarberShopCo we continue to reward performance and provide a stable working environment for our team. That includes holiday pay, sick leave, ACC, and KiwiSaver along with staff discounts, training, and our Barber Awards. We also offer pathways to franchise ownership for barbers with the right attitude, tenure and drive.
Our barbers are the best paid in the business because we know that our success and sustainability are also dependent on theirs.
3. Find the ideal location for your barber shop
Men are all about convenience and comfort, so location is a game changer. It’s a huge advantage to position your barber shop in areas with high visibility and foot traffic when you’re providing a time-efficient service.
In saying that, loyalty outweighs location if you deliver a great service because men are also habitual. Even a remote location can thrive if you consistently deliver a world-class experience.
I once visited a restaurant in Hong Kong and the wait time was over 45 minutes, the environment was sub-standard and the location was a little out of the way, however, the food was incredible and cost about $20. The restaurant did huge business every day and even earned a Michelin star!
4. Innovate in the right areas
The traditional walk-up model can often lead to frustrating wait times, especially on weekends, but if barber shops were to switch to a booking system, they would need to double their price to cover the cost of late clients, cancellations, and the logistics of running appointments.
To enhance the customer experience, BarberShopCo has revolutionised this process with BarbershopCo Q—a virtual queuing system that allows clients to join a queue from anywhere. This innovation enables clients to time their arrival, minimising delays while ensuring our pricing remains competitive. With over 31,000 engaged users and counting, this solution promotes satisfaction for both clients and barbers alike.
5. Offer Only the Finest Products
Men are often reluctant shoppers unless they need something, so we have curated a streamlined product offering at BarbershopCo. We’ve sourced products from New York, Italy, and Belgium, but to make it onto our shop floor, they must do the job at a good price, while feeling and smelling amazing. We sell a lot of pomade and beard oil! Product recommendations are a key step that often gets missed at barber shops, and it blows my mind. How can you expect your clients to style their haircuts at home without guidance and access to the products you used? At BarberShopCo we finish all our haircuts with premium product so that our clients leave feeling fresh and looking great!
Would you like more information about owning a BarbershopCo franchise?